Gasoline

Gasoline Prices Fall to $2.34 Per Gallon

January 17, 2017
• by Staff

Photo via Wikimedia.

The national average price of gasoline returned to New Year's levels, falling eight of the past nine days to reach $2.34 per gallon, according to AAA.

Retail unleaded fell 3 cents on the week, and remains 10 cents above its month-ago level and 43 cents higher than a year ago. AAA attributed the slight price decline to less demand and adequate supply, and warned that this downward dip may only be temporary. OPEC is scheduled to release its December monthly output report later this week.

Federal data mirrored AAA's findings. The U.S. Energy Information Administration also reported a 3-cent weekly decline to $2.358 per gallon. Gasoline is 44.4 cents lower than a year ago, according to that data.

The states that have seen the largest price decreases week-over-week include Indiana (13 cents), Ohio (12 cents), Michigan (11 cents), Kentucky (7 cents), and Illinois (6 cents). The nation’s top five most expensive markets include Hawaii ($3.06), California ($2.81), Alaska ($2.77), Washington ($2.74) and Pennsylvania ($2.64).

Meanwhile, the average price of diesel fell 1.2 cents to $2.585. Diesel is now 47.3 cents higher than a year ago.

The average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the U.S. in December fell to 25 mpg — down 0.2 mpg from a revised November value, according to Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak, researchers from the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).

The national average price of unleaded gasoline jumped 5 cents to $2.49 per gallon in the first week of 2018 and has reached a level not seen since 2014 during the week that starts the new year, according to AAA.

China is setting a deadline for automakers to end the sale of fossil-fuel powered vehicles as the country looks to reduce oil consumption and pollution and push for the development of electric vehicles. Regulators are working on a timetable for the ban.

The average national price of gasoline remained at $2.29 per gallon for the week ending March 27 amid discussion by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to extend a production cut by another six months.